Musharraf Receives Strong Rebuke in Pakistan Elections
They arrived in small groups over the course of the day, defying religious militants who say Pakistani women should not be allowed to vote.
Sunny Today But Wet Pattern to Continue
After yesterday’s rain storm, Boston is now over three inches above the normal liquid precipitation (3.3”) for all of February. Last year, there were only 2.2” for the whole month and only four cloudy days. This year, there have already been seven cloudy days. So what’s causing this unpleasant stretch of weather?
A Weather Machine
As computers and models become more sophisticated, weather forecasting is growing increasingly independent of humans. Even the text of this analysis could eventually be produced by a computer. What then is the contribution of humans in the process of weather forecasting? If the contribution is merely communicating the forecast, then meteorology as a physical science is only important in providing the tools to improve models. People are not usually interested in the physical consistency of their forecasts, rather, they are interested in the forecasts themselves and their accuracy. Once a model is capable of producing a forecast, the communication of the forecast to the public proceeds independently from the physical principles on which the forecast was based.
Black Leader Pulls His Support From Clinton, Shifts to Obama
Rep. John Lewis, an elder statesman from the civil rights era and one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s most prominent black supporters, said on Thursday night that he planned to cast his vote as a superdelegate for Sen. Barack Obama in hopes of preventing a fight at the Democratic convention.
Shorts (right)
On the eve of a planned trip to Africa, President Bush thrust himself into the role of peacemaker on Thursday, as his plans to promote American efforts against poverty and disease gave way to a more pressing imperative: addressing the violence and turmoil on the continent.
Shorts (left)
The Bush administration has agreed to turn over to international inspectors intelligence data it has collected that it says proves Iran worked on developing a nuclear weapon until a little more than four years ago, according to American and foreign diplomats.
Kenyans Split on Ethnic Lines Even Though Violence Declining
Sarah Wangoi has spent her entire life — all 70 years of it — in the Rift Valley. But last month, she was chased off her farm by a mob that called her a foreigner. She now sleeps on the cold floor of a stranger’s house, seeking refuge in an area of Kenya where her ethnic group, the Kikuyu, is strong. It is, supposedly, her homeland.
Faulty Satellite Will Be Target In Shoot-Down by the U.S. Military
The military will try to shoot down a crippled spy satellite in the next two weeks, senior officials said Thursday. The officials laid out a high-tech plan to intercept the satellite over the Pacific just before it tumbles uncontrollably to earth carrying toxic fuel.
Top Officials Make Bleaker Assessment of U.S. Economy
With the credit markets once again deteriorating, the nation’s two top economic policymakers acknowledged Thursday that the outlook for the economy had worsened, as both came under criticism for being overtaken by events and failing to act boldly enough.
Hezbollah Threatens New Attacks On Israeli Targets After Leader’s Death
Accusing Israel of killing one of his top commanders, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, threatened Thursday to intensify his group’s conflict with Israel and to retaliate against Israeli targets anywhere in the world.
Clinton Backers Desperate For Wins in Ohio, Texas Primaries
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and her advisers increasingly believe that, after a series of losses, she has been boxed into a must-win position in the Ohio and Texas primaries on March 4, and she has begun reassuring anxious donors and superdelegates that the nomination is not slipping away from her, aides said Monday.
Trial of Guantanamo Prisoners Appears Politically Motivated
Harsh interrogations and Guantanamo Bay, secret prisons and warrantless eavesdropping, the war against al-Qaida and the one in Iraq. On issue after issue, President Bush has showed little indication that he will shrink from the most controversial decisions of his tenure.
Shorts (left)
Drivers have never had so many distractions tempting them to take their eyes off the road and their hands off the wheel.
Shorts (right)
If present trends continue, within two decades the nation’s foreign-born population will surpass the historic 19th-century peak of nearly 15 percent of all residents, according to projections released Monday.
Subprime Loans Crisis Prompts Global Financial Market Decline
The credit crisis is no longer just a subprime mortgage problem.
Defense Secretary Suggests Troop Levels in Iraq Should Not Decrease
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said for the first time on Monday that he supported a pause in American troop reductions in Iraq. It was the most authoritative indication to date that the United States will maintain a large force here through 2008 and into the next presidential term.
The Windy City
Despite its nickname, Chicago is not the windiest major metropolitan area in the United States: That distinction actually belongs to Boston. Sunday surely lived up to the billing as the wind gusted ferociously around campus. A weather station on the top of the Green Building clocked a wind gust of 62 mph (100 kph) just after 4 p.m. Associated with this gust was a intense snow squall that also produced a short bout of lightning and thunder. This fickle weather was associated with an arctic front that blasted through the area dropping temperatures quicker than a piano falling from Baker House freezing any wet surface from earlier in the day.
Clinton Campaign Struggles As Obama Raises $32 Million
Concerned that it could lose several primaries and caucuses through the rest of February, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign sought to create an alternate story line of success on Thursday by announcing that Clinton had raised $7.5 million online so far this month.
After Romney Bows Out, McCain Emerges As Likely GOP Choice
Sen. John McCain of Arizona all but sewed up the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday after Mitt Romney withdrew from the race, saying the war in Iraq and the terrorist threat made it imperative that the party unite.
Deadly Tornado Outbreak
The deadliest tornado outbreak in the United States since 1985 occurred this past Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 50 people in a region spanning 5 southern states. While the extensive loss of life cannot be attributed to meteorological factors alone, the rare phenomenon of long-track supercell thunderstorms certainty did play a major role.